Members of now-defunct rock group Lostprophets have said they initially assumed accusations of child sex abuse against former singer Ian Watkins were a “mistake,” but say that in the aftermath of Watkins’ admission of guilt they are “heartbroken, angry, and disgusted at what has been revealed.”

“This is something that will haunt us for the rest of our lives,” the group wrote in a statement, posted to its official Facebook page on Saturday. “Being in a band has always been a labour of love and a platform to inspire people, not to take advantage of them. It’s still hard to believe this is happening and that someone we were once so close to has destroyed so many lives, lying every step of the way.”

We never imagined him capable of behaviour of the type he has now admitted

The remaining members of Lostprophets, who announced they would be breaking up in October of this year, say that they had no knowledge of Watkins’ offences before they came to light in the singer’s courtroom admission of guilt on Nov. 26. “Many of you understandably want to know if we knew what Ian was doing,” the group wrote. “To be clear: We did not.”

“Our personal relationships with him had deteriorated in recent years to a point that working together was a constant, miserable challenge,” the group went on. “But despite his battles with drugs, his egotistic behaviour, and the resulting fractures and frustrations within our band, we never imagined him capable of behaviour of the type he has now admitted.”

Ian Watkins pleaded guilty to 11 of 20 counts of child sex abuse and child pornography on Nov. 26, including conspiring to rape a child under 13 years old. Two women also pleaded guilty to committing several offences with Watkins, some of which involved their own children.

Welsh police are urging other victims to come forward in the wake of Watkins’ admission – and after a large cache of child pornography belonging to Watkins, some of which was created by the singer, was found in cloud storage, having been accessed more than 40,000 times before it came to police attention.

“The outcome does not mark the end of our investigations and we will work tirelessly to identify any other victims or witnesses and seek the justice they deserve,” Detective Chief Inspector Peter Doyle said last week. “Above all, this investigation has been focused on the protection of children and my thoughts are with those victims.”

That same police force is also scrambling to uncover how the singer’s documented and long-suspected history of child pornography and abuses flew under their radar – after it was apparently called to their attention by a former girlfriend of Watkins, Joanna Majic, in 2008.

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There’s a big world out there, but it’s hard to see it when you’re sitting behind a desk, which is why writer Maryam Siddiqi took more than two weeks holiday. Actually, she took almost seven months to travel to 20 countries on four continents, documenting the journey the whole way. Visit our interactive map to see where Maryam went.